Vehicle mounting system

ABSTRACT

Systems for mounting an object within a vehicle are disclosed. One such system includes a mounting plate, a bracket, and a hinge. The mounting plate is configured to be affixed to a dashboard of the vehicle. The bracket is adapted to receive the object to be mounted. The hinge has a base portion and a body portion movable relative to the base portion. The base portion of the hinge is mounted to the mounting plate and the body portion of the hinge is mounted to the bracket. The body portion of the hinge is pivotable relative to the base portion around a first axis, and the body portion of the hinge is rotatable around a second axis different from the first axis.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/441,587, filed on Feb. 24, 2017, the contents of which areincorporated by reference herein in its entirety and for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to mounting systems, and moreparticularly, to systems for repositionably mounting objects within avehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Specialized vehicles are an essential tool in many differentprofessions. In particular, professions such as law enforcement commonlyutilize a number of specialized electronic systems (e.g., computers,radio systems, sirens) that are not found in conventional automobiles.While vehicles may be specially manufactured that include these systems,these systems may also be added to conventional automobiles throughafter-market installations. However, one problem that arises from suchinstallations is the simple and effective mounting of after-marketelectronic devices in conventional vehicles. Improved systems aredesired for repositionably mounting objects in vehicles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention are directed to systems for mounting anobject within a vehicle.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a system formounting an object within a vehicle is disclosed. The system includes amounting plate, a bracket, and a hinge. The mounting plate is configuredto be affixed to a dashboard of the vehicle. The bracket is adapted toreceive the object to be mounted. The hinge has a base portion and abody portion movable relative to the base portion. The base portion ofthe hinge is mounted to the mounting plate and the body portion of thehinge is mounted to the bracket. The body portion of the hinge ispivotable relative to the base portion around a first axis, and the bodyportion of the hinge is rotatable around a second axis different fromthe first axis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is best understood from the following detailed descriptionwhen read in connection with the accompanying drawings, with likeelements having the same reference numerals. When a plurality of similarelements are present, a single reference numeral may be assigned to theplurality of similar elements with a small letter designation referringto specific elements. When referring to the elements collectively or toa non-specific one or more of the elements, the small letter designationmay be dropped. This emphasizes that according to common practice, thevarious features of the drawings are not drawn to scale unless otherwiseindicated. On the contrary, the dimensions of the various features maybe expanded or reduced for clarity. Included in the drawings are thefollowing figures:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary system for mounting anobject within a vehicle in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the system of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views of an exemplary bracket of the system of FIG.1;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views of the system of FIG. 1 with a mounted object;and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views of exemplary systems for mounting an objectwithin a vehicle including alternative mounting plates in accordancewith aspects of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The systems disclosed herein are usable to provide mounting for objectswithin conventional vehicles (such as automobiles). While the disclosedsystems are described herein with respect to mounting within the cabinof a vehicle, it will be understood that the invention is not solimited. To the contrary, aspects of the present invention are usable inany application in which a repositionable mount is desired.

While a variety of objects may be mounted within the disclosed systems,the disclosed mounting systems are particularly suitable for mountingelectronic devices, such as laptops, tablets, or mobile phones. Suchdevices may be subject to periodic use within the vehicle, and as such,the disclosed systems advantageously allow such objects be repositionedbetween a “use” and “stow” position while remaining mounted to a portionof the vehicle. Other electronic devices or objects mountable with thedisclosed systems will be known to those of ordinary skill in the artfrom the description herein.

With reference to the drawings, FIGS. 1-48 illustrate an exemplarysystem 100 for mounting an object within a vehicle in accordance withaspects of the present invention. System 100 is usable to repositionablymount objects, such that they can be moved within various stablepositions within a vehicle. In general, system 100 includes a mountingplate 110, a hinge 130, and a bracket 150. Additional details of system100 are provided herein.

Mounting plate 110 is configured to be affixed to the dashboard of thevehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, mounting plate 110 may include one or morefasteners 112 to affix mounting plate 110 to the dashboard. Suitablefasteners include, for example, screws, bolts, pins, or other fasteners.Fasteners 112 may be configured to mate with pre-existing structures onthe dashboard, or may require the creation of new structures (such asthreaded holes, anchors, etc.) to enable the affixation.

In an exemplary embodiment, mounting plate 110 comprises a single, flatplate. However, it will be understood that the structure of mountingplate 110 shown in FIG. 1 is not intended to be limiting. To thecontrary, mounting plate 110 may have other geometries depending on theshape of the dashboard to which system 100 is mounted. Other exemplarymounting plate shapes are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and are discussed ingreater detail below.

As shown in FIG. 2, mounting plate 110 has a first surface 114 which isconfigured to face the dashboard and a second surface 116 opposite thefirst surface 114. Mounting plate 110 defines a plane 118 (shown with adashed line in FIG. 2) between surfaces 114 and 116 at a portion ofmounting plate 110 to which hinge 130 is coupled. The movement of hinge130 relative to plane 118 will be described in greater detail below.

Hinge 130 has a base portion 132 and a body portion 134 which is movablerelative to base portion 132. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, base portion132 is mounted to the second surface 116 of mounting plate 110. In anexemplary embodiment, base portion 132 is mounted at an edge of secondsurface 116 to enable a desired range of motion of body portion 134.

Body portion 134 is pivotable relative to base portion 132 around afirst axis X, and is rotatable around a second axis Y. First axis Xextends in a direction parallel to plane 118. Second axis Y extendsorthogonally to, but spaced from, first axis X. Accordingly, pivotingbody portion 134 around first axis X moves body portion in a firstrotational direction (shown by arrow in FIG. 2), and rotating bodyportion 34 around second axis Y moves body portion in a second,orthogonal rotational direction (shown by arrow in FIG. 1). As shown inFIG. 2, first axis X and second axis Y do not intersect.

In an exemplary embodiment, body portion 134 includes an upper section136 and a lower section 138. The first axis X around which body portion134 pivots is defined by a pin 140. Pin 140 extends through a pair ofarms 142 on base portion 132, and through an aperture in the uppersection 136 of body portion 134. The position of body portion 134relative to base portion 132 may be maintained due to friction betweenpin 140, arms 142, and upper section 136. Additionally, lower section138 is rotatable around the second axis Y relative to upper section 136.

Lower section 138 of body portion 134 may include one or more featuresdesigned to mate with and secure to bracket 150. In an exemplaryembodiment, lower section 138 includes a threaded rod 144 for threadedengagement with a corresponding threaded hole on bracket 150.Additionally, lower section 138 may include one or more keying features146 to ensure rotation of bracket 150 when lower section 138 is rotatedrelative to upper section 136.

Bracket 150 is mounted to body portion 134 of hinge 130. Bracket 150 maybe mounted to the lower section 138 of body portion 134, so as to berotatable around second axis Y relative to the upper section 136 of bodyportion 134.

In an exemplary embodiment, bracket 150 includes a plate 152 and a frame154 coupled to a rear surface of the plate 152, as shown in FIG. 4B.Plate 152 is adapted to receive and secure the object to be mounted. Asshown in FIG. 3, plate 152 may include one or more openings 156 on afront surface thereof in order to receive fasteners for securing theobject to be mounted to plate 152. Frame 154 is adapted to be mounted tobody portion 134 of hinge 130. As shown in FIG. 4B, frame 154 mayinclude a threaded opening 158 for threadingly engaging with threadedrod 144 of hinge 130. Frame 154 may also include one or more keyingfeatures 160 positioned to mate with keying features 146 on hinge 130.

As shown in FIG. 3, bracket 150 may further comprise a slot 162 whichdefines an additional movement direction of the mounted object relativeto bracket 150. In this embodiment, the object to be mounted is affixedto a center opening 156 c of bracket 150, and includes a projectionwhich extends into slot 162. Slot 162 defines a rotational movement pathwhich extends around center opening 156 c at a fixed radial distance.This rotational movement path allows rotation of the mounted object dueto movement of the projection through slot 162. This rotation proceedsaround an axis through center opening 156 c and orthogonal to bracket150, and is shown by arrow in FIG. 3. Such rotation of the mountedobject is orthogonal to both the pivoting movement around first axis Xand to the rotational movement around second axis Y. Accordingly, theobject mounted to bracket 150 is movement in three degrees of freedomrelative to the mounting plate 110 and/or the dashboard of the vehicle.

In operation, the object to be mounted is affixed to plate 152 ofbracket 150. Body portion 134 of hinge 130 is pivotable around firstaxis X between a first position (shown in FIG. 5A) and a second position(shown in FIG. 58). System 100 may further include one or two bumpers170 to delimit the pivoting movement of body portion 134. As shown inFIG. 2A, an upper bumper 170 delimits movement of body portion 134 tothe first position, and a lower bumper 170 delimits movement of bodyportion 134 to the second position.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show system 100 with an exemplary object 50 mountedthereto. As shown in FIG. 5A, in the first position, bracket 150 ispositioned entirely on one side (i.e., above) plane 118 defined bymounting plate 110. As shown in FIG. 58, in the second position, bracket150 is positioned crossing plane 118, with portions both above and belowplane 118. In this position, the second axis Y passing through bodyportion 134 is orthogonal to plane 118, allowing left-right movement ofthe mounted object.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show alternative exemplary systems 200 and 300,respectively, for mounting an object within a vehicle. These systemsillustrate potential changes in the design of mounting plates vehicle inaccordance with aspects of the present invention.

System 200 includes a mounting plate 210. As shown in FIG. 6, mountingplate 210 includes a plurality of front surfaces 212 facing towardbracket 250. Front surfaces 212 extend downward at an angle from theupper surface 214 of mounting plate 210. Front surfaces 212 may providefor an easier and/or more stable connection of mounting plate 210 to thedashboard of the vehicle.

Mounting plate 210 may be mounted directly to a vehicle, or may bemounted to a vehicle via an intermediate mounting plate 216. In thisembodiment, intermediate mounting plate 216 supports the mounting of thehinge 230. Together, mounting plate 210 and intermediate mounting plate216 are configured to be secured to the vehicle dashboard by way of adamping effect. In this configuration, mounting plate 210 may also beconfigured to act as a close-out for an opening in the dashboard createdby removal of a factory/OEM component to facilitate the mounting ofsystem 200. Screws (shown on the top surface of mounting plate 210) maybe used to secure mounting plate 210 and intermediate mounting plate 216together. Bumpers may be provided on an underside of mounting plate 210in contact with the dashboard to ensure sufficient clamping to thedashboard without marring the finish of the dashboard.

System 300 includes a mounting plate 310. As shown in FIG. 7, mountingplate 310 includes a first level plate 312 and a second level plate 314which is affixed to and spaced upwardly from the first level plate 312.The spacing of first level plate 312 and second level plate 314 may beuseful to accommodate dashboards having different structures, and may beused to provide a more stable connection of mounting plate 310 to thedashboard of the vehicle. Mounting plate 310 further includes a ridgeextending from the first level plate 312 to the second level plate 314.Ridge 316 may be useful to increase the mechanical strength of mountingplate 310.

Like system 200, system 300 may utilize a main mounting plate and anintermediate mounting plate to provide the requisitestability/structural integrity of the mounting system. In this case, themounting plate 300 supports the mounting of the hinge, rather than theintermediate plate, as described above with respect to system 200.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein withreference to specific embodiments, the invention is not intended to belimited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications may be madein the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claimsand without departing from the invention.

What is claimed:
 1. A system for mounting an object within a vehiclecomprising: a mounting plate configured to be affixed to a dashboard ofthe vehicle; a bracket adapted to receive the object to be mounted; anda hinge rotatably coupling the mounting plate to the bracket such thatthe bracket is rotatable relative to the mounting plate around a firstaxis, and the bracket is rotatable relative to the mounting plate arounda second axis oriented orthogonal to the first axis, the first axis notintersecting the second axis.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein themounting plate defines a plane, and wherein the first axis is parallelto the plane.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the bracket is pivotablearound the first axis between a first position in which the bracket ispositioned entirely on one side of the plane, and a second position inwhich the bracket is positioned crossing the plane.
 4. The system ofclaim 3, wherein when the bracket is in the second position, the secondaxis is orthogonal to the plane.
 5. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising at least one bumper delimiting a pivoting movement of thebracket in one direction around the first axis.
 6. The system of claim5, wherein the at least one bumper comprises a pair of bumpersdelimiting the pivoting movement of the bracket in both directionsaround the first axis.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the bracketcomprises a plate adapted to receive the object to be mounted.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the plate of the bracket comprises a slotdefining a movement direction of the object relative to the bracket. 9.The system of claim 8, wherein the movement direction defined by theslot is a rotational movement direction.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein the rotational movement direction defined by the slot isorthogonal to a rotational direction of movement of the bracket aroundthe second axis.
 11. A vehicle comprising: a dashboard; a mounting plateaffixed to the dashboard; a bracket adapted to receive an object to bemounted; and a hinge rotatably coupling the mounting plate to thebracket such that the bracket is rotatable relative to the mountingplate around a first axis, and the bracket is rotatable relative to themounting plate around a second axis oriented orthogonal to the firstaxis, the first axis not intersecting the second axis.
 12. The vehicleof claim 11, wherein the mounting plate defines a plane, and wherein thefirst axis is parallel to the plane.
 13. The vehicle of claim 12,wherein the bracket is pivotable around the first axis between a firstposition in which the bracket is positioned entirely on one side of theplane, and a second position in which the bracket is positioned crossingthe plane.
 14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein when the bracket is inthe second position, the second axis is orthogonal to the plane.
 15. Thevehicle of claim 11, further comprising at least one bumper delimiting apivoting movement of the bracket in one direction around the first axis.16. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the at least one bumper comprises apair of bumpers delimiting the pivoting movement of the bracket in bothdirections around the first axis.
 17. The vehicle of claim 11, whereinthe bracket comprises a plate adapted to receive the object to bemounted.
 18. The vehicle of claim 17, wherein the plate of the bracketcomprises a slot defining a movement direction of the object relative tothe bracket.
 19. The vehicle of claim 18, wherein the movement directiondefined by the slot is a rotational movement direction.
 20. The vehicleof claim 19, wherein the rotational movement direction defined by theslot is orthogonal to a rotational direction of movement of the bracketaround the second axis.